The Arizona sentinel., 1887-12-24

| SlilI Hst't W uO NIGHOuG Jleul cACep
on rare occasions.
''We set our bear traps miles back
in the gloomy forests, where the
grizzly bears love TO have their lair:
among the tangled, fallen timbers,
over which no one can pass except on
foot, and then only with great diff.
Guilty. When l first went out in the
grizzly's country, in 1919, there were
no such things as repeating rifles, OF
even breech-loaders. All had was a
heavy single barreled rifle to do my
hunting with for several years. To
come upon an ugly grizzly, weighing
half ton OF so, and probab ly not only
ready but anxious for a fight, was
something that meant business to a
man with sin gle-barreled gun.
Under such circumstances you can
rather believe that a fellow had to
make sure when he shot, and be up to
all the strategic points by which he
hoped to get another load in his gun
before the bear snatched him. In case
he was burdened with a fifty-pound
trap, of course the pleasantness of the
situation was greatly enhanced. But
nowadays 4 Winchester rifle makes
the meeting of grizzly a more seri-
Gus matter for the bear than it was in
times that remember vividly.
81 believe that the experience of all
grizzly-bear trappers has proved that
grizzly will invariably escape from
trap if he is not overtaken by the
hunter within few hours aft er being
caught. 1t is to lessen the danger of
this that all the skillful trappers fasten
the clog TO the trap with the chain on
one end of it Some trappers fasten
the chain in the midd lie of the clog, but
that shows that the man don't know
his business. With the chain fastened
at the end of the clog it is dragged
along endwise, and clears all OBJ
structions that would catch and hold
it crosswise if it were dragged from
the middle Nine times out of ten
grizzly will be caught by the trap not
far from the extremity of one of his
fore paws. Very rarely can it happen
that both paws are in the trap. On
being caught the bear rushes with all
the speed he can summon, and in
tremendous rage, toward the nearest
swamp or thicket, neither of which he
has to 90 far to find. He seems to
know that his life depends on his
speedily ridding himself of the
incumbrance of the trap. AS he
tears onward through the forest
he mows great swaths in the under
brush. He drags the trap and clog
against trees, logs, and rocks, and
whenever some obstruction holds
them fast he tugs and jerks his i'm
prisoned foot, trying to tear it loose.
If the chain held the clog in the mid
die the bear would not go far before
the drag would be caught between
two trees and held securely. Then |
one or two determined lunges back
ward by the bear with his enormous
body would tear the foot loose, and |
the grizzly would escape to the
swamp. have more than once come
up with my trap and found nothing in
it but the ragged and bloody half of
some monster bears foot, and such
has been the experience of all trap
pers.
The further grizzly bear goes on
his furious march without ridding
himself of the trap the greater his
rage becomes. If it happens to strike
against tree and does not hold there
he will turn on the tree and tear its
trunk with his teeth, some times gnash-
ing half the trunk away. l have fol-
lowed the trails of grizzlies through
the thick timber while they were en-
deavoring to free themselves of their
traps, and have counted sapling after
sapling chewed to the ground as COM
pletely as if they had been chopped
down with an axe. the trees being
covered with blood from the wounds
made on the mouths of the bears in
their blind rage.
''To come up with half-ton grizzly
bear while he is in such a condition of
temper is like meeting a cyclone. As
you follow the trail, which is usually
ong way through the forest, and
probably a mile or more into a swamp
where you can see but few yards
about you in any direction, you are
expecting the bear to rise
up some where and charge upon you
like an avalanche. There have been
lines when trappers have come up
with the bear at the very moment
when he has at last succeeded in tear
ng loose from the trap. Then there
5 apt to be trouble for the trapper
Unless he is as quick as a panther and
lis gun is true. The bear makes one
Wild rush upon his foe. He ceases to
be a bear, and is a demon incarnate.
Nothing can stop him but plenty of
cad well poured into him from riff 9
1y man who knows Just where to
oour it. If that fails to stop the bear
,r cause him to falter the life of
he man he is after isn't worth
IN ounce of powder. He will be torn
o pieces so quickly that it isn't likely
Ie will know what disturbed him.
lave known of more than one traprer
nding up in that way, and have
eard of many more. 1 have never
,ept a record of the number of griz-
les have killed, but it is up among
he hundreds. In spite of the greater